Bruce Marsh gets 40 stables at Kranji

SINGAPORE,  16 March 2005

Bruce Marsh, who won the 1971 Melbourne Cup on SILVER KNIGHT and now one of New Zealand’s leading trainers, is the latest to join Singapore’s training ranks at Kranji.

He joins fellow kiwis Laurie Laxon, Paddy Busuttin and Stephen Gray, who have all done well in Singapore in recent years.

Marsh, 55, has been granted 40 stables by the Singapore Turf Club. He and his wife Kay, who reside in Palmerston North, will move to Singapore next month.

"All going well, we hope to be set up over there sometime in April," Marsh told the New Zealand media.

"At this stage I’ll be looking to take 12 horses up there with me but just which ones has yet to be finalised. They are horses that are either racing or have had barrier trials and are mainly from our Woodville and Awapuni stables."

The Woodville and Awapuni stables that Marsh has operated successfully in partnership with his son Stephen for the past two seasons will continue as normal but will be managed solely by Stephen.

The partnership finished eighth in the table in the 2003/04 season with 39 winners and has chalked up 22 wins so far this season.

Bruce Marsh said one of the main reasons for his move to Singapore is the frustration of having to race horses in New Zealand for such low stakemoney.

In his training career of 30 years, Marsh has achieved numerous group winners in both Australia and New Zealand. His notable Group 1 wins in New Zealand include the ARC Zabeel Classic in 2003 and the New Zealand Derby in 2000 with HAIL, who also finished 12th in the 2002 Melbourne Cup when ridden by Noel Harris.